Spring broom-handle.



E. P. SEGHERS.

SPRING BROOM HANDLE.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. :1. 1914.

1,289,010, Patented Dec. 24, 1918.

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EMIEL P. SEGHERS, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR T0 HOWARD B. WILSON, OFCI-IAMPAIGN', ILLINOIS.

SPRING- BROOM-HANDLE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 24, 1918.

Application filed October 17, 1914. Serial No. 867,060.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EMIEL P. SEGHERs, a citizen of the United States,residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Spring Broom-Handles, ofwhich the following is a specification.

This inventid'n relates to a construction by means of which a rod orhandle may be given a resilient action when desired, and is moreparticularly designed and constructed for use in connection with brooms.The principal object of the invention is to provide a construction inwhich a broom may be given a resilient or flexible action after thebroom has become worn or when the bristles of the broom are too stifffor the purpose desired.

A further object of the invention is to provide improved means forlocking the sections of the handle from resilient action with respect toeach other.

For the attainment of these ends, and the accomplishment of other newand useful objects as will appear, the invention consists in thefeatures of novelty in the construction, combination and arrangement ofthe several parts generally shown in the accompanying drawing anddescribed in the specification, but more particularly pointed out in theappended claims.

In the accompanying drawing, Figure 1 is a view in elevation of a. broomwith a handle constructed in accordance with the principles of myinvention. Fig. 2 is a sectional view parallel with the width of thebroom. Fig. 3 is a view at right angles to the width of the broom. Fig.4 is a sectional view on the line 44 of Fig. 2. Fig. 5 is a sectionalview on the line 55 of Fig. 8, and Fig. 6 is a sectional view on theline 6-6 of Fig. 5.

When a broom becomes worn or when the bristles are too stiff for anyparticular use, it is frequently desirable to give to the broom a moreresilient action. By giving a broom a more resilient action, a wornbroom may be used much longer, thereby adding materially to its life andvalue. The present invention is designed and intended toprovide ayielding or flexible handle structure by means of which the flexibilitymay be increased at will, thus not only increasing the life of thebroom, but accommodating it to various uses and applications which itwould not ordinarily possess.

In the accompanying drawing, a handle is formed with an outer section 1constituting the hand-hold portion, and with a section 2 to which abrush 3is attached. Both of the sections of the handle are formed attheir adjacent ends with slits 4 and 5 at right angles to each other, ofwhich the outer end of one slit in each section is formed with a widenedportion 6. Secured in this slit 4 of each section by means of pins 7 andbolts 8, is a flat spring consisting preferably" of a plate dividedlongitudinally into parts 9 and 10 and formed with a tongue 11 which isdisposed in the slit of the section 1. The parts 9 and 10 are spacedapart and the tongue 11 extends across the space into the recess formedby cutting the material from the other part, the outside edges of theparts being flush with the outside edges of the handle.

Disposed between the parts 9 and 10 of the spring, and secured in theslit 5 of the section 2, but free in the other section of the handle, isa stop 12, preferably formed of strip metal as is the spring. In theupper or free end of the stop, it is formed with a slot 13 through whichthe tongue 11 of the spring extends and the slot is of such curvaturethat one section of the handle is oscillatable with respect to the otherabout an axis. located at the base of the widened portion 6 in thehandle section 2. The ends of the slot 13 act as a limit stop for thetongue 11 and the widened portions of the slits 4. in both of thesections are for the purpose of permitting the bending of one handlesec-- tion with respect tothe other, limited of course, by theengagement of the tongue 11 with the ends of the slot 13.

The sections of the handle are held spaced apart by the spring and theends of both of the sections are beveled outwardly at 14 from thewidened edges of the slits 4, so that there will be no obstruction whenone section is bent with respect to the other. The tongue 11 willcontact with either end of the slot 13 before the edges of the handlesections will abut so that the action of the spring between the limitsdefined by the slot,

will be free depending entirely upon the rein firm or solid positionwith respect to each other when the broom is new, or at any other timethat it may be desired, blocks 15 are provided, which, in case thehandle is round, are substantially in the form of a quarter of a circleand beveled slightly to conform to the beveled ends 1 1. These blocks 15are heldin place in any suitable manner, such, for example, as a screw16 which is inserted through holes 17 in the spring parts 9 and 10.Another means is provided for assisting in holding the stop in fixedrelation with respect to the handle section 1 when it is desired,comprising a number of pins 18 inserted through holes 19 in the stop 12and through registering holes 20 in the handle section 1. p

In the preferred construction, the stop 12 is the same width as thehandle, so that the edges of the stop are flush with the sides of thehandle and when the handle is used resiliently, the edges of the freeend of the stop will project from the sides of the handle as shown indotted outline in Fig. 1. In order to bind the stop in place withrespect to the handle section 1, a sleeve 21 is provided which may beslipped in place over the slit end of this section, thereby covering theslits and binding the free end of the stop in fixed relation withrespect to the handle section 1.

Thus it is seen that when desired, this handle may be held perfectlyrigid and the broom used in the ordinary manner, but when it is desiredto give to the broom a greater resiliency, and to make the action moreflexible, it is necessary first to raise the sleeve, then to remove thepins 19 by pressing them out of the handle and to remove the blocks 15.The handle sections are then connected only by the spring and the movement of a section with respect to the other is limited by the engagementof the tongue with the ends of the slot 13 as previously set forth.

This construction is particularly designed and intended for use inconnection with brooms and the like, but it is obvious, of course, thatit may have a more general application and use wherever a resilienthandle is desired.

l/Vhat I claim is:

1. A spring handle comprising separated sections, a flexible memberjoining the sections, and another member disposed at an angle to thefirst member and constituting a stop for limiting the movement of thesections with respect to each other.

2. A spring broom handle comprising separated sections provided withslits in their adjacent ends, a flexible member secured to both sectionsof the handle in the slits thereof, and a stop member secured in theslit of one of the sections and having means for engaging the flexiblemember to limit the movement of one section with re spect to the other.

3. A spring handle comprising separated sections formed with transverseslits at their adjacent ends, a spring secured to each of the sectionsin the slits thereof for spacing the sections apart, a stop comprising amember secured to one of the sections and proj ecting from its slit inthe other section and constituting a limit stop for the spring, andmeans to secure the stop releasably to the section to which it is notattached for preventing the spring action of the handle.

4. A spring handle comprising separated sections formed with transverseslits at their adjacent ends, a spring secured to each of the sectionsin the slits thereof for spacing the sections apart, a stop comprising amember secured to one of the sections and projecting from its slit inthe other section and constituting a limit stop for the spring, andmeans comprising pins inserted through the stop in that section of thehandle to which it is not connected, for preventing the spring action ofthe handle.

5. A spring handle comprising separated sections formed with transverseslits at their adjacent ends, a spring secured to each of the sectionsin the slits thereof for spacing the sections apart, a stop comprising amember secured to one of the sections and projecting from its slit inthe other section and constituting a limit stop for the spring, andmeans comprising a sleeve movable over the slit section to which thestop is not fixed, for holding the stop flush with the sides of thesection and preventing the spring action.

6. A spring broom handle comprising sections each formed with slits atright angles to each other, a spring secured in one slit of each memberand spacing the sections apart, a stop member secured in the other slitof one of the sections and free from fixed con nection in the other slitof the other section, the spring and the stop dividing the handlelongitudinally into four parts and blocks insertible between thesections of the handle for preventing the spring action of one sectionwith respect to the other.

7. A spring broom handle comprising sections each formed with slits atright angles to each other, a spring secured in one slit of each memberand spacing the sections apart, a stop member secured in the other slitof one of the sections and free from fixed connection in the other slitof the other section, the spring and the stop dividin the handlelongitudinally into four parts, blocks insertible between the sectionsof the handle for preventing the spring action of one section withrespect to the other, and additional means for preventing the springaction of the handle.

8. A spring handle comprising sections split at the adjacent ends withthe outer extremity of each slit gradually widened, a flat strip ofresilient material secured in the slit of each member within the widenedportion of the slit and spacing the sections slightly apart so that onesection is free to bend with respect to the other, and a stop insertedin the sections to engage the said strip.

9. A spring handle comprising sections each formed with slits at rightangles to each other, a fiat spring secured at its ends in the slits ofthe sections and being formed with a central longitudinal division slitwith a tongue connecting the divisions in the slit of one of thesections and a flat stop secured in the other slit of one of thesections and having a slot which is disposed in the slit of the othersection through which the tongue of the spring extends.

10. A spring handle for brooms comprising separated sections with slitsin each section at right angles to each other, one of the sections beingsecured to the broom with its slits parallel and at right angles to thebroom, a spring secured in the slits of each section parallel with thebroom having a tongue in the section not secured to the broom, and astop plate secured to the broom section with a slotted end in the slitof the other section through the slot of which the tongue projects tolimit the movement of this other section in a direction transverse tothe broom.

11. In a device of the class described, the combination with two flatstrips, one of which is resilient and formed with a tongue, and theother of which is disposed at right angles thereto with a slot at oneend to engage the tongue, a sectional handle of which the adjacent endsare formed with right angled slits, and means for securing the ends ofboth of the strips in one of the sections and for securing only theresilient strip in the other section, whereby the other section may besprung in either direction to the extent permitted by the slot.

12. In a device of the class described, the combination with two fiatstrips, one of which is resilient and formed with a tongue, and theother of which is disposed at right angles thereto with a slot at oneend to engage the tongue, a sectional handle of which Copies of thispatent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the theadjacent ends are formed with right angled slits, means for securing theends of both of the strips in one of the sections and for securing onlythe resilient strip in the other section, whereby the other section maybe sprung in either direction to the extent permitted by the slot,thereby permitting the free end of the flat strip to project beyond thesides of the other section, and means to releasably engage the free endof the strip to hold both handle sections against springing movementwith respect to each other when desired.

13. A spring broom handle comprising sections with right angled slits atthe adjacent ends, one of which is secured to the broom with a slitparallel thereto, a fiat spring secured in the slit parallel with thebroom and in a slit of the other section spacing them apart, the springbeing formed with a longitudinal division and with a tongue connectingthe divisions in the section not connected to the broom, a stopsubstantially the width of the handle cfixed to the broom section andhaving a curved slot through which the tongue projects in the othersection, blocks disposed between the sections to prevent the movement ofone section with respect to the other, means to lock the free end of thestop in connection with the outer end of the handle and a binding sleevemovable over the slit end of the outer section of the handle to assistin holding the stop in position and in preventing the spring action ofthe handle when desired.

14. A spring broom handle comprising sections, a resilient flat stripconnecting the sections, a stop for the strip connected to one of thesections and movable outwardly from the edges of the other section whenthe handle is used resiliently, and a sleeve movable over the said othersection to engage the edges of the stop to hold the handle againstspring action.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification, in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses, on this 12th day of October A. D.1914:.

EMIEL P. SEGI-IERS.

Witnesses:

THOMAS COLSON, KENT W. WONNELL.

Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. G.

